For me, the past Black Friday was truly a black day! – Guest author Chancellor reports on his experience with the “Black Friday” offer from Revelation Online.
While the beta of Revelation Online left me with the comforting feeling that this MMO could bring some movement back into my MMO landscape, a Black Friday offer from my.com made my dreams burst like a balloon.
45 euros for a flying mount in an MMORPG where everyone has wings…
With the announcement of the founder packages, a debate about the financing model and the expected shop contents had already begun. Even my.com felt compelled to adjust the contents of the packages afterwards. And now … the publisher shows Elven-like sensitivity with a mount for a meager 45 euros. Yes, not all elves are skinny. There are also grey elves with big ears and trunks.
You’ve read that right, it’s a single mount: There is no early access, no premium access, no knife block, and no, not even a lukewarm coffee with condensed milk. But hey, anyone who has already purchased one of the pre-order packages can look forward to a “great” discount action from the publisher. Because if you bought the most expensive of the three pre-order packages for just under 90 euros, you get a 55% discount on the balloon. What a bargain! Tossing confetti, I stumble over the confetti on my carpet.
Alright, let’s not overreact, we’re talking about a hot air balloon … not game-changing, not a so-called game breaker, not even a mount that could be considered extremely cool. So just don’t buy it.
Evil is cool
But it is already a strange decision on the part of my.com, as digital items are usually offered expensively, which can generally be summarized under the term “evil”: such as burning bone horses or martial armor. However, it can also be cute. Because even developers have learned that a red panda or a unicorn will find its buyers.
Even when a stone was introduced as a pet in Guild Wars 2, it rang in the publisher’s shop. Why do I have pictures of this? Purely out of journalistic duty to the reader.
But a hot air balloon? A rogue, who suspects a test balloon from the marketing team behind this offer. Thankfully, rogues tend to hang around in official forums. And angry reactions from the community regarding possibly overpriced shop items often don’t take long to come. At least, I thought so a bit naively. In joyful anticipation, popcorn cup in hand, I went to the official digital halls of the publisher. And behold…
Not quite what I expected. But the future player base in the “Revelation Online” forum doesn’t disappoint me either. In the official announcement of the sale, I find plenty of discussion. And that is a good thing!
The main accusation: You are not even in closed beta and you already want real money from us. Side accusation: If you start with 45€ now – what will you charge in the release version? We will be paying ourselves silly.
My.com says about FB: Only buy if you already have the Deluxe Pack
Because a publisher that demands a higher price for a virtual, useless item (let’s remember, in Revelation Online we get permanent wings at level 29) than other publishers for entire games must ask if the proportionality is still valid.
When asked, publisher my.com cheerfully told us that this was in no way concerning and did not reflect the later prices in the shop. It is only a way for us ambitious players to support the project. They briefly calculate how cheap it is with the discounts we would get from the pre-order packages and say: Without these discounts, the offer is nonsense and should not be purchased at all.
Even with the maximum discount, this offer remains a digital item for 19.99 €. Even the Chancellor is left speechless in front of the glowing monitor. A cold shiver runs down my spine as I realize that no one has mentioned lower prices in the later shop.
In the many years that I have been playing computer games, I have surely spent a euro or two on virtual goods. Not all were sensible, some were even just cute or nice to look at, and of course, I have also regretted purchases in hindsight. My personal pain threshold, however, is clearly below 45 euros for a cosmetic item or a mount.
Of course, my habits are not the standard. I also know other examples from my circle of acquaintances. In ArchAge, players sometimes spent 1,500 euros for a single weapon. With outfits in Black Desert Online, some players have strained their accounts, sometimes beyond healthy limits. And even mounts in World of Warcraft come with similar prices. Only, Blizzard and Co. have at least already released their games on the market.
The time when you got all game content for a base price or a subscription is over. The flood of “Free 2 Play” titles certainly also plays a non-negligible role in this. And publishers also want to earn on their product. Ultimately, it is up to us, the players, whether we allow a publisher to enforce such a price policy.
In the case of Revelation Online, I can only hope that this remains a trial hot air balloon. However, my personal hope regarding this offer is not particularly high for now. Even if I can do without this offer without batting an eyelid.
But how do you feel about such items? Are purely cosmetic items alright with you, no matter what price the publisher sets? Where is your pain threshold, and have you ever really regretted a purchase afterward?
This post is by our reader Chancellor. More from Chancellor can be found on his blog.
More about Revelation Online can be read here:
Revelation Online: A mix of Aion and Blade & Soul in modern! A first impression
